Mansfield Council urged to ‘end sorry saga’ and sell London flats with £20m safety problems

Coun Andre Camilleri, Conservative member for Berry Hill, has urged the Labour-led authority to cut its losses after serious concerns were found at the Clapham building.

The council, then led by the Mansfield Independent Forum, officially bought the building as an investment in 2017 for £5.95m, amid amid significant budget cuts and following Government advice to councils on diversifying income streams.

However, investigations in 2018 following the Grenfell Tower disaster and updated fire safety regulations meant a “number of” issues were discovered.

This included an absence of 60 minutes’ fire safety resistant material in escape routes and issues “inside the walls” meaning a fire could easily spread.

‘Waking watch’ security was hired to monitor the building 24/7 and the site’s fire protocols were changed to ‘simultaneous evacuation’ in the event of a blaze.

This security, which costs slightly above £126,000 for six months, was extended in May this year amid delays to repairs at the building.

Once under way, residents in all 40 apartments will leave their homes and be moved into temporary accommodation, with a £2.2m contract approved earlier this year with London-based agency Lambert Smith Hampton.

The walls, floors and ceilings will then be ripped out, so the building can be rebuilt internally, with re-cladding work also on the cards.

Overall, the wider project is expected to cost the council just shy of £20m from 2018-2025.

At the latest full council meeting, Coun Camilleri said continued spending could bankrupt the authority.

He said: “It’s apparent to everyone this open-ended commitment and liability could easily tip the council into bankruptcy.

“Something must be done to end this sorry saga.

“Can the deputy mayor tell us when the council will be able to sell this property, so we can hopefully recuperate some of these losses and the losses going forward?

“This would enable us to spend millions of pounds which would have been wasted on these ill-thought-out investments and improve the lives of our long-suffering residents.”

Coun Craig Whitby, deputy mayor and portfolio holder for finance, replied: “The priority is to improve the lives of the residents we are looking after.

“All money for the programme is budgeted for and we’re confident we’re pitching at the right levels in terms of what the costs will be for refurbishing that building.

“In terms of selling it, that would be a decision we would take if it comes to that position. It may well be keeping the property would generate more revenue than it would otherwise by selling it.”

After the meeting, he said: “It’s not working as an investment because it comes with huge liabilities.

“It comes down to us as responsible landlords to ensure that is corrected. Once it is corrected, we will look at it again.

“Investing outside Mansfield was a mistake, but we have to remember the pressures on the Mansfield Independent administration at the time.

“Tory austerity absolutely crippled local government finances.”